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AHSFHS Article Series

Amazing Seasons

When head coach Josh Niblett arrived in Oneonta the Redskins had just
completed a 1-9 season in 1999. His first team won five games and each
season thereafter won more games than the previous year. In 2003 they
finished 13-2 and came up just short of winning a championship after losing
30-7 to Pike County in the Super Six.

The Redskins were ranked
No. 2 in the ASWA Class 3A preseason poll behind T.R. Miller. The two teams
never moved from their positions and finished the season ranked the same
way.

Glencoe

0

0

0

0

0

Oneonta

10

7

7

0

24

Oneonta opened the 2004 season with a 24-0 win over Glencoe. Anthony
Mostella capped a three-play drive with a 44-yard run just 38 second into
the game for a quick 7-0 lead. He got a second touchdown on a one-yard run
in the second quarter for a 17-0 halftime lead.

The last score came on a
7-yard run by quarterback Brody Cornelius in the third. The defense kept the
Yellow Jackets out of the end zone and preserved the victory.

Oneonta

48

Locust Fork

6

In week two, the Redskins
routed Locust Fork 48-6 as Miguel Hurtado rushed for 139 yards on 13 carries
and scored four touchdowns. Hurtado scored on runs 23 and 27 yards in the
first quarter and added touchdowns of 4 and 6 yards in the second quarter.

Leeds

14

Oneonta

41

The Redskins defeated
Leeds 41-14 in week three to move to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in Region 4.

Susan Moore

0

0

0

0

0

Oneonta

3

6

7

0

16

Oneonta defeated Susan Moore 16-0 for their second shutout win of the season
the next week. Lee Sims intercepted two passes as the defense never allowed
Susan Moore to get untracked. They registered five sacks and held the
Bulldogs to just 99 yards of total offense.

Springville

0

6

0

3

7

0

16

Oneonta

3

6

0

0

7

3

19

In week four, Oneonta
needed two overtimes to defeat Springville
19-16 in a tight game. Mostella scored on a 3-yard run near
the end of the first quarter for a 6-0 lead before Jorge Marquez' 28-yard
field goal gave the Redskins a 9-6 halftime lead. Springville tied the game
on a 25-yard field goal with just four seconds left in regulation.

The Redskins got the
football first in overtime and scored on Brent Bender's 8-yard run to take a
16-9 lead. After Springville tied the score and Springville threw an
interception on the next possession, Marquez booted the game winning field
goal from 27 yards away. Quarterback Brody Cornelius missed the game after
separating his shoulder the week before.

Oneonta

21

7

56

J.B. Pennington

0

0

7

J.B. Pennington became
victim number six by the score of 56-7. Brody Cornelius set the tone with a
72-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage after coming back
from the shoulder injury. The Redskins upped the lead to 28-7 by halftime on
two scoring runs by Mostella.

Lee Sims returned an interception 26 yards to
make the score 49-7 in the third quarter. Mostella finished with 134 yards
rushing on 11 carries.

Sumiton Christian

7

6

0

13

27

Oneonta

7

21

14

7

48

Oneonta thumped Sumiton
Christian 48-27 as they celebrated homecoming. Cornelius tossed three
touchdown passes and Miguel Hurtado ran for three more scores in the rout.
Hurtado scored on a 52-yard run in the third to give the Redskins a 35-13
lead and finished with 114 yards rushing. Mostella added 101 yards on 11
attempts.

Oneonta

14

3

14

0

31

Ashville

0

6

0

0

6

Ashville fell 31-6 in
week eight of the 2004 season as the Redskins all but clinched the region
championship. Hurtado scored on a 59-yard touchdown run and Cornelius tossed
a 52-yard scoring pass to Lee Sims for a 14-0 lead. Hurtado finished with
125 yards rushing on only nine carries and scored two touchdowns.

Fultondale

0

0

0

0

0

Oneonta

0

0

0

0

1

Oneonta was scheduled to
meet Fultondale the next week, but the school decided to forfeit the final
two games of the season. The team only had 10 healthy players on a roster of
sixteen players. The forfeit win clinched the first Region championship for
Oneonta since 1995.

Oneonta

21

Moody

12

The next week Oneonta closed out the regular season with a 21-12 win over a
good Moody team. Hurtado rushed for 151 yards and Mostella added another 62.
Cornelius threw for 151 yards as the balanced attack proved too much for
Moody. Cornelius found Lee on a 69-yard scoring pass after Hurtado had
scored two earlier touchdowns.

Dadeville

0

0

0

7

7

Oneonta

14

13

0

0

27

Oneonta faced Dadeville
in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. The Redskins won 27-7 as
Cornelius completed 14-of-22 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
Oneonta held a 27-0 lead by halftime and coasted to the first round win.
Dadeville's only score came on a fake punt with eight minutes to play in the
game.

Straughn

0

0

0

0

0

Oneonta

7

7

7

0

21

Straughn fell 21-7 in the
second round to the Redskins at home. Mostella blocked the first punt
attempt by Straughn and returned it for a touchdown less than two minutes
into the game. Oneonta upped the lead to 14-0 on a touchdown pass from
Cornelius to Lee Sims in the second
quarter.

Hurtado scored early in
the second half on a one-yard run for the final margin. The win set up a
rematch of last year's title game with Pike County in the quarter-finals.

Oneonta

6

6

6

0

18

Pike County

7

6

0

0

13

Oneonta got some revenge
for a 30-7 loss to Pike County in last year's title game by defeating the
Bulldogs 18-13 the next week. Hurtado scored two touchdowns and the defense
held Pike County to just 31 yards of total offense in the second half. The
Bulldogs opened the game with an 80-yard touchdown run before the fans were
comfortable in their seats.

Pike County rolled up 277
yards in the first half and held a 13-12 lead at the intermission. Mostella
and Hurtado combined for 194 yards rushing to keep the football away from
the dangerous Pike County offense in the second half. Mostella scored on a
one-yard run to cap a long drive with 2:08 left in the third for the final
points of the game.

Oneonta

7

7

0

7

21

T.R. Miller

0

0

0

14

14

The win set up a
semi-final match with No. 1 ranked T.R. Miller. The Redskins knocked off the
Tigers 21-14 behind the quarterback play of Brody Cornelius. He completed
12-of-16 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense.

Hurtado rushed for 136
yards on 20 carries and Brent Bender scored the other touchdown for the
Redskins. Oneonta led 14-0 at the half and 21-0 before the Tigers managed to
find some offense and cut the lead to 21-14 but it was too little, too late.

Winfield

14

0

7

0

21

Oneonta

0

7

0

21

28

The Redskins returned to
the Class 3A state championship game with hopes of finishing with another
title. They had won back-to-back championships in 1971 and 1972 but had lost
the last three trips to the game in 1985, 1987 and last year.

Entering the fourth
quarter, the Redskins trailed 21-7 but put on a fierce
rally to win the game. Facing a fourth and nine play from their own
42-yard line, Oneonta quarterback Brody Cornelius found Miguel Hurtado
for a 51-yard gain to the Winfield seven. They scored two plays
later to cut the lead to 21-14 with 9:52 remaining in the game.

The comeback continued
with a Cornelius-to-Hurtado pass to tie the game, followed by a 29-yard Hurtado run with 3:52 left that put Oneonta ahead
28-21.

Winfield had one last
chance when they blocked a punt and recovered it at the Oneonta
19 with 2:28 left. Two plays later quarterback Blake Franks
threw an interception and the Redskins could finally celebrate
the championship.

Defensive lineman Cameron
LaRue, running back Miguel Hurtado and offensive lineman Adam Vinson were
named to the first team by the Alabama Sports Writers Association when it
came to the all-state roster. Joe Willie Whited was chosen to the honorable
mention team. Coach Niblett was selected as the Class 3A coach of the year.

The 2004 Oneonta Redskins
will long be remembered for winning a state championship with a fourth
quarter comeback in the title game. They finished 15-0 which set a team
record for the most wins in a season. It was also the first unbeaten and
untied team in school history.